Southern California -- this just in

Boy, mother pepper-sprayed by burglar

Corona police on Wednesday night were looking for a man who broke into a home with a second intruder and pepper-sprayed a 12-year-old boy and his mother.

The mother and her son arrived at their home in the 600 block of Azure Lane about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 and found one of the men inside during an attempted burglary, the Corona Police Department said.

The man told the mother and her son to leave and then pepper-sprayed the boy in the eyes, police said. The assailant also pepper-sprayed the mother as she tried to protect her child, police said.

At that point, the victims left the home. Police said witnesses reported seeing two men flee the home.

The mother and her son were not seriously injured and were treated at the home.

The man who used the pepper spray is described as Latino and is about 25 years old. He was described as medium height with a thin build. He had brown hair that was combed back and was wearing a dark jacket, police said.

The second man was described as African American and was 17 to 22 years old, police said. He was about 6 feet tall with short black hair and a thin build. He was wearing dark clothing.

Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Robert Gonzalez at (951) 279-3637.